


Unlikely Friendships

by MeteoraWrites



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Angst, Detox, Drug Addiction, Drug Withdrawal, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Nurse Troy Otto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 18:30:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13487250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeteoraWrites/pseuds/MeteoraWrites
Summary: Madison hires a home-care nurse to look after Nick while he detoxes so she and Travis can go back to work.Nick makes an unlikely friend.





	Unlikely Friendships

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous said to meteora-writes: 
> 
> Could you do a trick request where there is no apocalypse and Madison hires Troy to be kind of a caretaker for Nick while he goes through recovery and gets clean, because She and Travis need to work, and Alicia has school. Troy would basically be like a best friend/baby sitter where he keeps Nick company and helps him throughout the day bcuz detox sucks, and makes sure he doesn’t run off to do drugs anymore? and they become bffs?  
> ~~  
> I like this prompt. It's nice to get a friendship one for a change =) So, yeah, I can def do this.  
> ~~~
> 
> I'M BACK! Sort of. I'm still kind of depressed, and this took me all day to write =/ but I'm easing my way back into writing.

Nick was laying in his bedroom with the lights off and a small fan going for white noise. Every fiber of his being ached. He’d just taken his detox meds not even half an hour ago, but they didn’t feel like they were helping at the moment. He desperately wanted to take a nap, but until his meds kicked in all he could do was lay there and listen to the soft hum of the fan.

Much to Nick’s displeasure, a soft knock came at the door before it cracked open so a sliver of light hit him right in the face. He groaned and turned away from the annoyance, burying his face in his pillow as his mom opened the door the rest of the way and stepped inside.

“Nick, the home nurse we hired to stay with you is here.” Madison said softly as she looked down at her son.

Nick groaned again. “I told you I’d be fine on my own.” He whined, pulling his pillow over his head to further block the light from the hallway.

“No, you won’t. You can barely get around the house by yourself right now.” Madison argued half-heartedly. “Look, he’s just going to sit with you. Make sure you get your meds on time, and make you something to eat when it’s time for lunch. You don’t have to like it, but he is going to be here for the next few weeks. Alright?” Madison said with a irritated sigh.

“Fine.” Nick said after a drawn-out pause. “Can I go back to trying to get some sleep now?”  

“Yes.” Madison conceded, leaning down to pull the pillow away from Nick’s face long enough to give him a kiss on the cheek. “If you need anything Troy will be in the living room. I’ll see you in the afternoon. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Nick replied miserably, pulling the pillow back over his head and curling into a ball under his blankets. A moment later the door clicked closed and he rolled to face away from it on the off chance this Troy person decided to come check on him at some point later on.

After a while he managed to fall back to sleep, only waking up again when his meds started to ware off and he really needed to pee. So, begrudgingly, Nick forced himself out of bed and out into the hallway. He could hear the sound of someone puttering around in the kitchen, but paid no mind as he focused on relieving himself.

Once that was taken care of, curiosity got the best of him and he made his way to the kitchen.

A man was stood at the stove with his back to Nick. He was tall. Taller than Nick by at least 2, maybe 3 inches, with short-cut light brown hair. He was wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt on under an ugly green scrub top. “Finally up?” The man, Troy, asked.

“Yeah… I take it you’re Troy?” Nick said, slowly stepping into the kitchen and moving to the side so he could get a look at Troy’s face.

“Yup. And since there’s no one else here, that would make you Nick. I’m about done making lunch. Was gonna come wake you up when it was finished.” He said, looking over to Nick with a smile. He was handsome, with vibrant blue eyes that sparkled in the sunlight that came in from the kitchen window.

Nick found himself blinking owlishly at the guy. “Yeah, cool… So… What are you making?” Nick asked, not looking away from the other man’s eyes as they both stared a moment.

“Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Figured it’d be about all your stomach could handle at the moment.” Troy explained, looking back to the stove and giving one of the sandwiches a flip. He’d made enough food for the both of them.

“Cool.” Nick said, watching as Troy continued to poke at and stir the contents of the stovetop. “So… How long are you supposed to stick around for?”

Troy snorted at the question. “Until you’re not a flight risk.” He said, dishing out the soup and grilled cheese for the both of them before picking up the plates and turning to gesture for Nick to have a seat at the table. “Saw your medical file. You’ve got quite the history for a kid your age.”

Nick scoffed at that. “I’m not a kid. And if you lived here you’d run off at the first opportunity too.” Nick grumbled as he took a seat and eyed his soup suspiciously before picking up his spoon and giving it a taste.

Troy took the seat across from Nick and raised a brow at his comment. “Is it really that bad? Your family seemed nice when I met them this morning.”

A mirthless chuckle escaped Nick’s lips. “They’re alright. They just don’t understand what it’s like for me. I try to be what they want me to, but the fact of the matter is I don’t fit in here. I’m not cut out for going to college and having a normal life like most people.”

Troy just continued to stare at Nick with one brow raised. “What makes you so sure of that?” He asked before trying a spoonful of soup.

“Look at me.” Nick said, waving his spoon for emphasis. “I’m a mess.”

“You’re detoxing. Everyone’s a mess when going through withdrawals.” Troy countered. Ripping his grilled cheese in half before dipping in his soup and taking a bite.  

Nick snorted a laugh at that. “Even when I’m clean I’m a mess. I try to be normal; go to college, get a job. But everything always goes to shit. Things are easier when I’m high. At least then I don’t care that I’m a disappointment.”

This time it was Troy that laughed. “Life’s supposed to be hard. Though, I’ve found it’s better to be a spitefully little shit when a situation gets bad. But, hey, whatever works for you.” He said with a shrug.

“Seriously?” Nick asked, squinting at Troy in disbelief.

Troy just blinked at Nick innocently before speaking around a mouthful of food. “My father raised me to run his militia on his ranch of doomsday preppers.”

“No way! You’re kidding?” Nick asked, setting his spoon down and giving Troy an appraising look.

Troy just grinned in response before going back to eating his grilled cheese.

“Okay, so, how the hell did you become a nurse then?” Nick asked, food temporarily forgotten.

“My older brother got custody of me after he left for college and realized just how fucked up things were back home. After I turned 18 our father tried to convince me to come back to the ranch and take my place helping run the militia and such. Mind you, I’d realized just how fucked up my entire childhood had been by that point and signed up for nursing school instead. Old man just about had a coronary when I told him.” Troy recalled, scratching at his jaw absently before going back to his lunch.

“So, let me get this straight. You were raised to run some kind of post-apocalyptic army, but now you’re a home care nurse.” Nick clarified, a smile spreading across his face.

“That about sums it up, yeah.” Troy confirmed, grinned back.

“And you did this to spite your father?”

“And because I’m good at it.” Troy said with a shrug, dipping the last chunk of his grilled cheese in his half-finished soup. “Now finish your lunch. I’ll get you your meds after an’ we can watch a movie or something till your mom gets home from work.”

“You tell all your patients your life story?” Nick asked before he picked up his grilled cheese and took a small bite.

“Only the ones I have something in common with.” Troy said before finishing off his soup and moving to stand.

“And what do we have in common?” Nick asked, amused at how Troy rolled his eyes at the question.

“We’re both the black sheep of the family. Both from families that don’t understand us. The only real difference between us is that you just wish you weren’t.” Troy explained as he started to wash his dishes.

Nick blinked over at Troy, processing his analysis as he continued to eat his lunch.

After that they moved to the living room and watched a few movies before Madison, Travis and Alicia got home that evening. Troy left, declining the invite to stay for dinner as he had plans with his brother that night. The next few days went about the same. Nick sleeping late, then having lunch with Troy while the two of them hung out. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they sat in silences. Mostly they watched movies together.

By the time the two weeks were up and Nick was officially “clean” they had formed a friendship. Troy gave Nick his number and they hung out when Troy wasn’t taking care of other patients. It made Madison feel better knowing that Nick had made a friend that was actually a responsible adult, and having Troy as a friend made Nick look at things differently.

A month later Nick got a job working for a program that visited schools and talked to kids about drug abuse awareness. After three more months he moved out of his mother’s house (much to her protest) and into the spare bedroom of Troy’s apartment. Things weren’t perfect, but they were the best they had been in as long as he could remember.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to [Check out my Tumblr](https://meteora-writes.tumblr.com) for story update schedules and other info <3


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